Course Overview

The Sun, being the brightest thing in the sky, has commanded the attention of all intelligent beings throughout time. Thus, it is only natural that any course in Astronomy include a module which focuses on the Sun. Introduction to Solar Observing is offered as a module in the summer Astronomy course for students enrolled in the MSE degree program. This module will be taught in a series of five three-hour sessions. This is an activity-based module, with the aim of teaching scientific concepts and skills through hands-on activities. Each session will begin with an introductory lecture utilizing visual aids such as slides, overheads, and internet resources. The lecture will be followed by a series of hands-on activities, giving the teacher-participants the opportunity to fully explore the material covered. The session will end with an open discussion of the covered material and its related activity, insuring that the teacher-participants have obtained a working knowledge of the concepts that were introduced in the session.

This module has been designed with you, the secondary school science teacher, in mind. The material covers many basic concepts of astronomy, physics and mathematics that are well within the grasp of secondary school students. Astronomy is an observational science; the Sun is one of the most easily observed objects when the necessary safety precautions are taken. Other than the Moon and several of the planets which make their occasional appearance during the day, the Sun is the only object available for visual observation during regular school hours. For this reason alone, the Sun is the obvious target for teaching astronomy concepts to secondary school students through direct observation.

Many of the activities involve the use of telescopes and other equipment that your school may not posses. This should not present a problem for your future observations, however, as the Etscorn Campus Observatory Robotic Telescope can be made available to your school for remote observing.

Most of the activities can be easily reproduced in a classroom setting. Along with samples of material used in this module such as prisms, diffraction gratings, pinhole projectors, drawings and photographs, you will be supplied with illustrated step-by-step instructions for each of the activities. These instructions will include a complete materials list, purchasing resources, and a cost break-down.

Furthermore, all of the lecture outlines and related graphics will be available on the internet in both html and PDF formats for your continued reference. The website dedicated to this module will include links to solar observatories, solar data archives, and other related sites. This can be a primary resource for developing your own lesson plans.

You will come away from this module not only with a basic knowledge of solar observing, but with a basic understanding of the physics of light and optics, telescope design and operation, and data acquisition and reduction techniques, all of which can be easily passed on to your students in a exciting and entertaining manner.

	Introduction to Solar Observing	Course Overview	Course Syllabus	Course Schedule
	Introduction to Solar Observing	Index of Course Sessions